Vol. 8 · No. 2 · 2004

Paul Robbins

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Pastoralism in Rajasthan, as elsewhere in India, has for many years been declared to be in a state of 'crisis'. Decline of pasturage and capitalisation of agricultural production regimes have long been identified as culprits in 'squeezing' the region's livestock producers out of the economy (Salzman 1986). Reports of the death of Rajasthani pastoralism, however, have been greatly exaggerated; livestock production in the region continues to boom and animal production remains closely tied to the increasingly capitalised agricultural system of the area. Indeed, the expansion of the agricultural economy, which has had a squeezing effect on pastoralism, has itself been enabled by the growth of the livestock economy. This contradiction, whereby pastoralism continues to grow 'inwards' towards the centre of the regional economy, even while it is increasingly pushed 'outwards' to its margins, marks an odd disparity in economic development.